FA+
Shop
Finally got to play Dust: An elysian tail!
12 years ago
So I finally got to play Dust: an Elysian tail on pc and the game is just amazing!
First: gameplay.
The gameplay is smooth, responsive and, though simple, pretty deep, especially for a 2D platformer. As a pc port from the Xbox 360 arcade it plays very well. Generally controls and such on ports don't translate very well and becomes a mess, but NOT here.
The combat is pretty fun, the combos you can create and chain together are very impressive and can yield some huge hit combos if you know what you are doing.
In addition to your melee combat you have your companion "Fidget" an adorable, funny and entertaining companion who follows you throughout the game and she has some abilities that, while on their own are very weak, in combination with your "dust storm" ability will create some devastating affects. This also helps build up your hit combos. I can see a lot of situations allowing you to just spam your aerial dust storm and fidget's abilities but there are also a lot of times when you have to use more tactics like when fighting a Trolk (Rock+troll.) which is almost invulnerable until you parry the attack, stunning it and opening it up for a counter attack.
The world is free to explore through several zones, some places you can't reach until you unlock certain abilities. Going back and exploring old locations is VERY rewarding and can yield some interesting secrets. There are a few puzzles that you encounter and make you really think. You find a lot of notes and a few of them have hints toward some hidden treasures. There are also some challenge dungeons with an obstacle course with a treasure at the end. On the Xbox 360 there are leader boards that keep track of the highest scores. PC does not seem to have them though. With all of this content, for an arcade/indie game, it can have about 20 or so hours of content and exploration! The story missions them selves might not be very long, maybe roughly 8 hours, but if you do all the side quests you will find many more hours worth of content to do.
Visuals: The graphics and animation quality is really impressive! its smooth and looks great! it has a cartoony style that colorful and clear and is very well animated. if you use your "dust storm" effect the environments actually react to it. it pulls objects to you and you will see trees wave and vines swing toward you when you use the Dust storm and makes the environment feel more physical and less like a static backdrop.
Soundtrack: The music in this game is incredible! it has epic tracks, it has pleasant tracks and it has emotional tracks! The company "Hyperduck Soundworks" did a great job with the sound track. The music fits with the environment and the situation just perfectly. I just can't emphasise enough how incredible the soundtrack for this game is!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhTjoLo_6xE
Story: How to even begin with this? When I first seen the trailers and gameplay it seemed like a simple story about a young warrior who is a confident and skilled combatant and is going to face a terrible evil and save the world. Well, he does save the world but there is alot more leading up to it! First: you wake up in the woods, a sword called the Blade of Ahrah flys up and calls you "Dust." Dust does not remember who he is, where he is from or what he is ment to do. You meet a flying Nimbat called Fidget, who was a guardian of the sword and she joins you to discover your purpose. Beyond that I cannot, and WILL not say any further on the story itself because there are nothing but MAJOR spoilers after that point. It also yields probably one of the BIGGEST twists and surprises I have ever seen in gaming! Rivals the weight and impact of the Bioshock twist I'll say that much.
The Characters in the story are unique and interesting, Fidget is hilarious and breaks the fourth wall sometimes and is alot of fun to listen to. When you open the world map there is a campfire in the background and sometimes she is sitting on a stick either roasting marshmallows or sleeping. CUTE!! Other characters you encounter through the game are pretty interesting, conversations with them can take a couple minutes but I think they are pretty interesting and engaging conversations. The story is surprisingly emotional as well, you wouldn't think you would cry in a game with a cartoony design with animal characters. Here there are many situations where i feel like I need to go in a corner and cry for a few minutes! Again, TRYING TO GIVE NO SPOILERS but there is a speech a child gives you after the death of his father and if you don't feel something after he says his words, there is something wrong with you, that or you had the sound and subtitles off. It was especially heavy for me because my own dad had passed away a long time ago. This game pulls at your heartstrings in unbelievable ways! The credits even have a few scenes based on these situations and they are just really heavy. The ONLY thing I would change about the story is giving the main enemy maybe a little more motivation, his goal was pretty simple with no big, groundbreaking reason behind it.
So, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Fantastic game, furry or not, platformer fan or not, This game is worth getting, it has excellent gameplay, a powerful story, great visuals, and all for $15!
One more thing that makes this even more amazing:
Aside from soundtrack and voice acting, this was ALL done by ONE GUY! Dean Dodrill worked on this for 4 years by himself!
coding, animating, drawing, story, all by himself! You look at the credits and its mostly voice actors, testers and producers aside from him. That is amazing! So help support the great work he did and check out Dust: An elysian tail! If you tried it, let me know what you think!
First: gameplay.
The gameplay is smooth, responsive and, though simple, pretty deep, especially for a 2D platformer. As a pc port from the Xbox 360 arcade it plays very well. Generally controls and such on ports don't translate very well and becomes a mess, but NOT here.
The combat is pretty fun, the combos you can create and chain together are very impressive and can yield some huge hit combos if you know what you are doing.
In addition to your melee combat you have your companion "Fidget" an adorable, funny and entertaining companion who follows you throughout the game and she has some abilities that, while on their own are very weak, in combination with your "dust storm" ability will create some devastating affects. This also helps build up your hit combos. I can see a lot of situations allowing you to just spam your aerial dust storm and fidget's abilities but there are also a lot of times when you have to use more tactics like when fighting a Trolk (Rock+troll.) which is almost invulnerable until you parry the attack, stunning it and opening it up for a counter attack.
The world is free to explore through several zones, some places you can't reach until you unlock certain abilities. Going back and exploring old locations is VERY rewarding and can yield some interesting secrets. There are a few puzzles that you encounter and make you really think. You find a lot of notes and a few of them have hints toward some hidden treasures. There are also some challenge dungeons with an obstacle course with a treasure at the end. On the Xbox 360 there are leader boards that keep track of the highest scores. PC does not seem to have them though. With all of this content, for an arcade/indie game, it can have about 20 or so hours of content and exploration! The story missions them selves might not be very long, maybe roughly 8 hours, but if you do all the side quests you will find many more hours worth of content to do.
Visuals: The graphics and animation quality is really impressive! its smooth and looks great! it has a cartoony style that colorful and clear and is very well animated. if you use your "dust storm" effect the environments actually react to it. it pulls objects to you and you will see trees wave and vines swing toward you when you use the Dust storm and makes the environment feel more physical and less like a static backdrop.
Soundtrack: The music in this game is incredible! it has epic tracks, it has pleasant tracks and it has emotional tracks! The company "Hyperduck Soundworks" did a great job with the sound track. The music fits with the environment and the situation just perfectly. I just can't emphasise enough how incredible the soundtrack for this game is!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhTjoLo_6xE
Story: How to even begin with this? When I first seen the trailers and gameplay it seemed like a simple story about a young warrior who is a confident and skilled combatant and is going to face a terrible evil and save the world. Well, he does save the world but there is alot more leading up to it! First: you wake up in the woods, a sword called the Blade of Ahrah flys up and calls you "Dust." Dust does not remember who he is, where he is from or what he is ment to do. You meet a flying Nimbat called Fidget, who was a guardian of the sword and she joins you to discover your purpose. Beyond that I cannot, and WILL not say any further on the story itself because there are nothing but MAJOR spoilers after that point. It also yields probably one of the BIGGEST twists and surprises I have ever seen in gaming! Rivals the weight and impact of the Bioshock twist I'll say that much.
The Characters in the story are unique and interesting, Fidget is hilarious and breaks the fourth wall sometimes and is alot of fun to listen to. When you open the world map there is a campfire in the background and sometimes she is sitting on a stick either roasting marshmallows or sleeping. CUTE!! Other characters you encounter through the game are pretty interesting, conversations with them can take a couple minutes but I think they are pretty interesting and engaging conversations. The story is surprisingly emotional as well, you wouldn't think you would cry in a game with a cartoony design with animal characters. Here there are many situations where i feel like I need to go in a corner and cry for a few minutes! Again, TRYING TO GIVE NO SPOILERS but there is a speech a child gives you after the death of his father and if you don't feel something after he says his words, there is something wrong with you, that or you had the sound and subtitles off. It was especially heavy for me because my own dad had passed away a long time ago. This game pulls at your heartstrings in unbelievable ways! The credits even have a few scenes based on these situations and they are just really heavy. The ONLY thing I would change about the story is giving the main enemy maybe a little more motivation, his goal was pretty simple with no big, groundbreaking reason behind it.
So, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Fantastic game, furry or not, platformer fan or not, This game is worth getting, it has excellent gameplay, a powerful story, great visuals, and all for $15!
One more thing that makes this even more amazing:
Aside from soundtrack and voice acting, this was ALL done by ONE GUY! Dean Dodrill worked on this for 4 years by himself!
coding, animating, drawing, story, all by himself! You look at the credits and its mostly voice actors, testers and producers aside from him. That is amazing! So help support the great work he did and check out Dust: An elysian tail! If you tried it, let me know what you think!
